Abstract

It is argued to Chapter III that according to Marx, exploitation at the outset of the capitalist epoch was just, for it allowed for a type of freedom which was an advance over the freedom in feudalism. But there can be no doubt that Marx believed that the exploitation in 19th Century Europe was unjust. It violated four juridical standards: those of equality, freedom, property, and selfish mutual advantage . The position defended here, labeled the freedom as justice position, is contrasted with other contemporary interpretations, including those of Allen Wood, Allen Buchanan, George Brenkert, Gary Young, and Ziad Husami . In Section 26 Marx's lack of discussion about justice is explained. ;Chapter II is an examination of Marx's theory of capitalism as a system in which surplus-value is acquired by the capitalist. It is argued that, according to Marx, the competitive structure of capitalism induces the capitalist to continually desire a greater amount of surplus-value. The only two methods for increasing surplus-value result in the unjust treatment of the worker. Capitalism for Marx is thus unjust because it induces unjust acts. But capitalism can exist without this mistreatment, just as slavery can exist without the brutalization of slaves. The question thus arises, does Marx hold that even a minimal amount of exploitation is unjust? This question is the focus of Chapter III. ;The work includes an Introduction and three chapters . Chapter I is a critical analysis and defense of Marx's labor theory of value. A justification for this undertaking is offered in Sections 1 - 2. Since a commodity is the bearer of economic value, an analysis of Marx's notion of a commodity is evaluated and defended in Sections 3 - 5. The labor theory of value is the subject of Sections 6 - 10. The defensible version of this theory is that the value of an object is determined by the amount of socially necessary labor-time required to produce the object under normal conditions at the time of its exchange in the market. It is argued that Marx does maintain that supply and demand determine value, though only in the short-run. The labor theory is thus compatible with marginalism. Sections 9 and 10 are replies to what are named the heterogeneity of labor and the heterogeneity of value objections. ;The aim of this work is to provide an accurate account of Marx's conception of the justice of capitalism, as it is exemplified in Capital. With this account it may be possible to construct a Marxian theory of justice, which will be able to be compared with other theories of justice, such as Rawls', Nozick's, the utilitarian, etc. The account is, at the same time, an attempt to resolve the controversy surrounding Marx's opinions about the justice of capitalism. One party to the controversy maintains that Marx's condemnation of capitalism is non-moral and that Marx believed that capitalism is just. The opposing party, the position generally supported here, maintains that Marx condemned capitalism as an immoral and unjust social system